The New York Knicks have been trying to play 48 minutes of consistent basketball this season. If they didn't do it Tuesday night, maybe they were too busy watching Atlanta.
Dominique Wilkins scored 24 points and five of the eight other Hawks who played hit double figures in Atlanta's 109-94 victory over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden."I think this was our steadiest game," Hawks coach Bob Weiss said. "It was great. We kept responding to their runs. We talked about what got us the lead and to try to keep doing the same things and we did just that."
Despite New York's Atlantic Division-leading 20-10 record, the Knicks often have had to climb out of big holes they dug for themselves. Tuesday night New York just kept digging.
"We just did not play the game at all," New York coach Pat Riley said. "We didn't play hard and because of that had the game handed to us pretty easily."
The victory halted the Hawks' four-game road losing streak, while the Knicks slipped to 13-3 at the Garden.
"We played good D, helped each other through the picks and moved the ball on offense," Weiss said. "After that, everything takes care of itself. A great win for us."
Alanta led 19-17 with 2:32 left in the first quarter before reeling off an 20-8 run to take a 37-25 lead with 6:34 remaining in the half. Duane Ferrell scored 6 points in the run, which Wilkins capped with a 15-foot jumper and a slam dunk.
The Hawks widened the gap to 43-27 after Kevin Willis scored on a slam dunk, then stole a John Starks pass and hit a layup, and settled for a 52-38 halftime lead.
The Knicks put together a 17-6 run midway through the third quarter to cut the lead to 64-59. Starks scored scored 6 points and had an assist and Mark Jackson added 5 points, an assist and a steal in the run.
But the Hawks ran off 7 straight points late in the quarter to build an 81-67 lead on Morton Wiley's 15 footer with 2:05 left in the third, and the Knicks never threatened again.
"Plain and simple, we just didn't get the job done," Starks said. "We could have played a lot better but you also have to give Atlanta credit for coming in here and doing what they had to do.
Willis scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who have won four of their last six games against New York. Stacey Augmon added 17 points, Paul Graham had 15, Blair Rasmussen 14 and Ferrell 13.
Patrick Ewing contributed 23 points and 11 rebounds and Xavier McDaniel 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Starks and Gerald Wilkins scored 15 points each for New York.
Cavs 113, Timberwolves 98
At Minneapolis, Brad Daugherty scored 24 of his 27 points in the first three quarters to lead the Cavaliers to its ninth consecutive win and fifth straight on the road. Cleveland sank 14 of 18 shots in the third quarter and finished the night shooting 58 percent (43 of 74).
Bulls 102, Bullets 89
At Chicago, Michael Jordan scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half and Scottie Pippen added 17 for the Bulls, who have won 11 of their last 13 games and five straight at home. Chicago grabbed a 28-17 lead at the end of the first quarter and held a double-digit lead for most of the rest of the game. Harvey Grant scored 19 points for the Bullets, who committed 19 turnovers.
Lakers 104, Mavericks 80
At Dallas, Terry Teagle scored 19 points and Los Angeles held the Mavericks scoreless during a six-minute stretch of the second quarter. The Lakers have won three of their last nine games and the Mavericks lost their fifth straight. They have lost four of their last five at Reunion Arena, where they are 7-10 this season.
SuperSonics 106, Nuggets 99
At Denver, Ricky Pierce scored 3 of his 28 points during a 13-2 Seattle run down the stretch to help the Sonics pull out a come-from-behind victory. The Nuggets have lost 10 of their last 15 games. Pierce scored 9 points in the fourth quarter as Seattle, which has won five of its last seven games, overcame a 97-93 deficit with 3:39 remaining.
Blazers 104, Magic 89
At Portland, Ore., Terry Porter scored 23 points and dished out 11 assists to help give the Blazers their eigth win in their last 10 games and hand Orlando its 17th straight loss. The Magic, which played for the 13th time without leading scorer Dennis Scott, shot 37 percent from the field.